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Shape Note Singing

May 31, 2008 By Ruth Everhart 1 Comment

Today we’re off to an all-day Shape Note Sing in Berryville, VA.

Shape Note singing was popular in the south, and was a standard in the churches, but went out of popularity sometime soon after the Civil War. ?Singing is unaccompanied, with the singers seated in a square, by parts, facing each other. ?The leading is shared, meaning that everyone has an opportunity to lead a song, which they do by pumping their arm to keep time. ?Singers also pump their arms, and they sing loudly. ?Pitch pipes are frowned upon, and instead the music is pitched to the range of the singers.

Shape Note Singing is a full-body experience, what with pumping arms and rafter-rattling volume. To me, it is the perfect antidote to our culture’s attitude toward singing, which is obsessed with singing as professional entertainment. ?I believe that the purpose of singing is for the enjoyment of the singer, as well as the hearer.

I grew up in a denomination that had good singing, and one thing I value in my current congregation is the heart-felt participation in singing. ?When I go to other churches, I often notice the erosion of singing. ?People don’t want to sing out if they don’t feel they are perfect. Which misses the point.

Shenandoah Shape Note singing

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Comments

  1. Lorraine says

    May 31, 2008 at 8:44 pm

    So how did it go? Why is it called “shape note” anyway? I hope you managed to dodge the huge storms that roared through here… it was so scary at one point that I took dd to the basement. yikes. And no power for hours. Although, it sounds like shape note singing could go on no matter whether there’s power or not. 🙂

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